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Top 10 Stories of 2025: #8 - 7th Region Produces Top 3 Teams in Regular Season Rankings

December 12, 2025
Prep Baseball KY Staff

Today we're back with another story in our 2025 Year in Review! Over the next few weeks, we will be reflecting on an excellent year for the Bluegrass State and reviewing the Top 10 Stories of 2025. Coming in at #8 on the list, we have the 7th Region's dominance this spring, producing the top three ranked teams in the state!

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Moving on to our #8 story of 2025, we stay within the high school season--one of the most entertaining and competitive in recent memory. From Opening Day through the State Championship, this spring delivered consistent high-level baseball across the Commonwealth, and few places embodied that better than Louisville’s 7th Region.

High school baseball in Kentucky remains unique on a national scale. As one of the only states without a class-based postseason system, every school competes on the same playing field, all working toward a single bracket and, ultimately, a single state champion. With 16 geographic regions spread across the state and only one representative advancing from each, the road to Lexington is never easy. This structure only boosts the intensity of the regional tournament round. While high quality baseball was seen across every corner of the state, the 7th Region stood out in 2025 for its depth at the top and its impact on our statewide rankings throughout the spring.

This year marked one of the busiest seasons to date for the Prep Baseball Kentucky staff in terms of scouting coverage, content, and on-field evaluations. One of the most notable additions to that coverage was our weekly Top 25 Power Rankings, which quickly became one of the most followed storylines of the season. What separated 2025 from previous years was the grip that the 7th Region held on the top of those rankings. As the regular season progressed, Trinity, St. Xavier, and Ballard — three 7th Region powerhouses — consistently occupied the top of the rankings. In fact, for the final four weeks of the regular season, the podium belonged exclusively to those three programs, with each spending time at the #1 overall spot. There were multiple stretches where the top-ranked team in the state lost — not to an out-of-region challenger — but to another powerhouse right across Louisville. The back-and-forth nature of these rankings reflected just how evenly matched these programs were, and it set the stage for a postseason that everyone across the state had an eye on.

When the dust settled on the regular season, Trinity had surged back to the top of the rankings behind a 13-game win streak, St. Xavier secured the No. 2 spot with a hard-earned 27–6 record, and Ballard, which opened the year on a 23–0 run, rounded out the top three. Each of the three programs backing the podium had the production to support the rankings, turning in some of the most impressive statistics in Kentucky this spring.

Trinity set the pace all around. Offensively, the Shamrocks posted a .361 team batting average, collecting 370 hits, including 138 extra-base hits and 25 home runs. They scored 325 total runs with 281 RBIs, and drew 187 walks with 186 strikeouts. On the mound, Trinity’s pitching staff delivered a dominant 1.18 ERA over 250.0 innings, allowing only 138 hits and 42 earned runs while striking out an impressive 306 batters. Both statistically and visually, it was one of the most complete teams in the state.

St. Xavier once again tested itself against one of the toughest schedules in Kentucky, and the Tigers came out with a profile that matched their resilient reputation. They finished the year with seven wins over teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at some point during the season, along with several notable out-of-state victories. Offensively, the Tigers recorded a .287 team average, tallying 269 hits, 208 runs, 176 RBIs, and 63 extra-base hits. Their pitching staff struck out 213 hitters over 247.0 innings, posting a strong 2.35 team ERA. In a year loaded with elite offenses, St. Xavier still found ways to win and stay at the top in multiple fashions.

Then there was Ballard, a team that forced everyone in the state to take notice by opening the year with a 23-game winning streak. The Bruins finished with a .349 batting average, totaling 301 hits, 264 runs, and 225 RBIs, while adding 79 extra-base hits, 152 walks, and 73 stolen bases, all while striking out just 127 times, lower than any team in the final regular season Power 25. On the mound, their senior-led staff produced a 1.20 ERA, allowing just 124 hits and 36 earned runs over 210.0 innings, while striking out 246 hitters. 

By the time the 7th Region Tournament arrived, it was clear no matchup would come easy. Despite the regular-season results and rankings, the margin between these teams had been razor-thin all year, and everyone understood that postseason baseball rarely follows a script.

One thing, however, was certain: Region 7 was in for a stretch of elite baseball.

In the semifinals, St. Xavier and Ballard squared off in a matchup that had the feel of a championship game. With both aces on the mound (St. X: 2026 Air Force commit Brodie Benefield, Ballard: 2025 IU Southeast commit Kevin Moore) and two of the most well-rounded lineups in the state, every inning was electric. The game pushed into extras before the Tigers ultimately found a way to edge out the Bruins in what quickly became one of the most memorable games of the postseason.

That win set the stage for a long-awaited final: No. 1 Trinity vs. No. 2 St. Xavier — a true heavyweight matchup and rivalry game between two programs that had traded punches throughout the spring. The final delivered on expectations, as both teams battled in another tightly contested, high-level matchup. When the final out was recorded, it was Trinity that emerged on top, capturing the 7th Region title and putting a fitting end to one of the most competitive regional races the state has seen in years.

While only one team could move on to the State Tournament, the impact of the 7th Region reached far beyond a single result. Week after week, Trinity, St. Xavier, and Ballard set the standard across Kentucky this season. Their performances shaped the rankings, challenged teams statewide, and created some of the most high-profile games of the year!

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